A CARER who took the identity of the daughter of an elderly woman was spared prison yesterday.

Shirley Ann Allen, 52, admitted two offences of deception, involving £8.258 to buy a Ford Escort and £318.47 for clothing and household goods, when she appeared before Harrogate magistrates.

Allen, who also admitted attempting to obtain similar items worth £2,072 was told by court chairman Catherine Nickols that taking somebody's identity was serious.

The court, which heard she had been convicted of housing benefit fraud last year and ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid community work, imposed another 200 hours and told her to pay £50 costs.

Steven Ovenden, prosecuting, said Allen, of Spring Cottage, Healey, near Masham, had been in a position of trust caring for the woman, whose daughter also lived with her.

The offences came to light in January when the daughter, who had never previously applied for credit, tried to buy a car, but was refused as a bad credit risk.

A cheque showed there were arrears of £616 on an account in her name.

Inquiries showed Allen had bought the car in June 2000 and still owed money on it and a mail order account.

In mitigation, Ian McLellan said Allen had repaid £7,000 for the car and wanted to discharge her debt to the catalogue company.